European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 19, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Italy can t keep track of its greatest asset its Art sided Watercolour by Paul Cezanne that disappeared from a drawer in the archives of the National gallery of modern Art in Rome. For two weeks the gallery s director Clung to the Hope that the Cezanne had been misplaced in the archives which hold 20,000 artworks on paper. Short of expensive electronic Security for every Monument a like that installed at St. Ambrose the romanesque Basilica in Milan with Money Given by a Bank a the Best defense May be an inventory of Italy s riches. An accurate list would make stolen pieces harder to sell. Quot Art students should be Given a map and set to work cataloguing Italy Inch by Inch Quot Giulio Carlo argan an Art historian and former mayor of Rome wrote in ii Gior Nale Dell arte a cultural monthly. Argan and other critics say an inventory now under Way is inadequate and the $600 million being spent Only enriches the private firms conducting it. It appeared for a time that corporate sponsors might be the new Medicis especially for the Rescue of deteriorating monuments and artworks 1 there have been notable corporate projects such Ashe cleaning of the Trevi Fountain in Rome paid for Byan insurance company but too few sponsors have come it Forth. One problem is that the kinks still Haven t been it worked out of a 10-year-old Law to provide tax Breaks. Apart from the Vatican museum the uffizi is the most i popular attraction on the italian Peninsula. Attendance has surpassed 1 million a year for decades. Such renown makes it easy for the uffizi to get sponsors. Small plastic plaques thanking for example a Bank or an optical company Are tacked below tags identifying titans and Giotto. Quot i can t say that everything is falling apart Quot Perioli Tofani the museum director said of the situation nationally. Quot there Are problems but we can resolve them Quot she said the government misses out on a lot of potential income. Quot i see the face of Venus on Candy boxes tourist brochures Quot she said speaking of the uffizi s Venus on a Shell by Botticelli but noted that state museums Are not allowed to charge for reproduction rights. Farming out coat checking and other chores to concessionaires would tree state employees for custodial and other work Perioli Tofani added. Quot i Don t mean total privatization Quot she said Quot but you can t run the uffizi like some Small museum in Arezzo. Of Don t run Fiat like the bake shop Down the  24 stripes Magazine March 19, 1992 a by Frances d Emilio the associated press Lorenzo de Medici princely Patron of the italian Renaissance would Roll Over in his Marble lined mausoleum if he knew a Botticelli was stacked in the uffizi storerooms in Florence with 3,000 other paintings. At least Italy s Premier gallery keeps a careful inventory of its riches. That s More than Many other museums and churches do in this land of countless artistic and archaeological treasures. The nation s Blessing is also its curse Italy cannot handle the accumulation of cultural wealth from nearly 3,000 years of civilization. These Are just a few notes from a dismaying chronicle of the year that finds Florence commemorating the 500th anniversary of Lorenzo s death a during visiting hours robbers made off with five priceless paintings from Modena s painting gallery which has a sophisticated Security system. Ancient Arches and columns in Rome Are painstakingly restored Only to be quickly blackened by Auto exhaust. A less than one fifth of 1 percent of the National budget goes to the ministry responsible for Italy s greatest resource. Things Are so bad that the undersecretary for culture wants to lend archaeological finds to foreign museums and universities for up to 10 years. The current limit is six months. Luigi Covatta reasons that if they can borrow what they covet foreign museums will not resort to Clandestine trafficking and tens of thousands of objects now hidden in storage can displayed. Quot i m sure he was just trying to provoke some action Over the problem but i understand his reasons Quot said Anna Maria Perioli Tofani a staunch opponent and the uffizi s director. A study found that an average of 15,000 pieces of Art about equal to a typical museum s collection Are stolen each year from churches galleries and private owners. Poorly guarded excavations notably the etruscan Tomb Region North of Rome Are easy pickings for thieves. One of the most stunning recent losses was a double the Basilica of Santa Croce is As much a museum As a Church with its great paintings and sculptures. Files amps file Florence has so much Art both inside and out that it is difficult if not impossible to take care of it